Meeting the GUZ man

[mmpv]

Hey everyone. It's been a while since my last post. Been busy.

 

Just want to fill you in on our experience with GUZ.

 

First the foreplay...

I got there a week early, then spent most of the time preparing for the big day with my SO. Printing out docs and info, sorting, cataloging, doing last minute docs, translations and making sure things flow smoothly with what we know about how the interview process goes. Chat logs? Check. Phone logs? Check. Photos? Check. Does the photo book fit under that slot in the interview window. URG! Remount everything into a new loose leaf type photobook. Etc. Etc. Let's just say it wasn't the most exciting time of my life. ;-) But none the less it's was a very important part. If there's any time to be anal in your life, this is it.

 

Went to Guangzhou 2 days early. Did the medical exam on Day 1. Got to the clinic at around 10, didn't leave until 1PM. They had what looked like a guided "medical exam" tour group of people there that day. Remember to bring $ and a good book or 2. Had to go back to clinic in late afternoon to pick up the xray film and results. Paid the visa fees at the Citic Bank about a block away from the consulate, took about 10 minutes.

 

We stayed at the 7 days inn, a couple of mins. cab ride away from the embassy. Cheap, utilitarian rooms, free internet, lots of hot water and good water pressure in the bathroom. ;-)

 

I didn't go to ACH as I really didn't have any questions I wanted answered. But mostly, I looked at the recent history of others before me, some of who's American halves even stayed in the US and got their visas. So I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't rock the boat or leave a bad impression if I just went there and wasted their time.

 

We didn't spend much time preparing for the interview until late in the second day. I can't speak for everyone, but for us, it was for the best as we were already nervous enough and we were approaching the point of diminishing return. To be honest, we were already very well prepared before we went to Guangzhou. We only needed a last minute refresher.

 

Now don't laugh, we dragged our HP Printer to Guangzhou. It was only about 4-5 lbs and I can only tell you it came in very useful for us in the last minute.

 

In the evening of the 2nd day, after dinner, we organized the paperwork one last time according to the order the embassy listed them in the Instruction sheet on the last packet, and then packed up and went to bed.

 

Next to the action..

Got to the consulate at crack of dawn, 6-ish I'd say. There was already a small contingent of people already standing in line. The lines grew steadily longer and more disorderly as daylight arrived. Some did the famous, walk up, start chatting with people then try to sneak in line. It became quite annoying when the person in front of you cut in line, then became brazen enough to wave a group of others over. I was going to say something when one of the guards came over and "told" these people where the end of the line was. +1 for the guards. As it approached 6:45AM, it started to drizzle. The guards saw this and then attempted to move most of the line onto the front covered steps. +2 for the guards. (They were Chinese guards and they actually do care about the masses.) :-) When the drizzle stopped, the guards moved the lines back down onto the front of the building. Again, opportunists got their chance to cut in line. At around 7-7:30, the guards starting organizing the lines by appointment time. This was the time to be alert and get into the right lines. I got out of the line at this point and went inside the building to wait for my SO to enter. The lobby of the building is a public area, but full of vultures. Speaking of which, these vultures came out and handed out fliers right when they turned the lights on in their ground floor offices. People in line thought they were being handed info by Consulate employees. I told these people I didn't want their fliers or services and they seemed to take the hint. After waiting for a while for the lines to settle down, the guards started checking credentials and letting people into the lobby upstairs. I walked my SO up to the embassy entrance, next to the coffee shop, where we parted again. I didn't stay there too long as I didn't want to sit in the coffee shop. However, I did notice a group of Chinese ladies sitting in there, or squatting there I should say, as the waiter tried to show them a menu which they apparently had no intentions of ordering from. The waiter then got the manager who tried to show them the door, and there was a big commotion. I was there long enough to hear the screaming from the ladies who were being evicted. ;-)

 

 

And now to the Climax!

I went to the Starbucks across the road from the IKEA. Good tip Kyle. Free Wi-Fi and better bang for your buck. If you dislike Starbucks, there is a KFC with plenty of seating further down that mall building. I ordered a breakfast and started to check my emails and such. I only sat there for about an hour and half or so before my phone rang. I looked at my watch, Oh CRAP I thought. This can't be good. I answered the phone, and my SO was on the other line. I asked, "and?" My SO replied, "of course I passed". I almost squirted out my coffee. "What?" I asked. That was it. We did it.

 

Needless to say, the interview was very anti-climactic. My SO was asked many questions, most of them softball types, but the VO did a very thorough job in the questioning process. But the whole interview was quick.

 

 

We credit our success on a couple of thing.

 

(1). We front loaded the heck out of it right from the beginning. Anything that we had on hand which might be helpful in proving a real relationship, we put it in. Plenty of photos, extensive photocopies of receipts, boarding passes, phone records, postal correspondences, etc. The packet I mailed to USCIS almost weighed 5 lbs. Also, this would be a time that you can cherry pick the goods you want to present, as opposed to doing it in the interview time, when the ball is in the other court. Still don't believe in front loading? Well, I didn't front load our initial app with our chat records, and according to my SO, that was the only thing that the VO asked to look at during the interview. All the other gunk we brought didn't matter and weren't looked at. My SO told me that the VO had that deer in the headlights look when my SO walked up to the interviewing window and hoisted a mountaineering sized backpack full of gunk up to the window ledge. I guess showing that you are well prepared doesn't hurt. ;-) Incidentally, we had notarized letters of references/support from friends and family, however, these were not of interest to the consulate even when offered. I wrote a simple introduction letter in place of the EOR, and it was ignored as well. When my passport was offered, it was looked at, but to be honest, I think this case was decided long before the passport was flashed. Bottom line, I think smart (i.e., knowing/expecting what they want) front loading saved us a lot of grief come interviewing time.

 

(2). Preparation. Pay now or pay later. Need I say more?

 

(3). Getting there early. Now there are many recommendations both on this and other forums on how early to get there, this is our take on the matter. We believe that getting there as early as possible then be nimble enough to follow the guards' re-ordering(s) of the lines helped us quite a bit. My SO was near the beginning of the lines even after they were reshuffled. Because my SO got inside the consulate early, the forms were accepted early, the fingerprinting was done early, and as a result my SO was also one of the first ones called up for the interviews. I was told that by the time my SO came was hi-tailing it out of there after the pink was in hand, the interviewing room had filled up with people waiting to get called. I would take my chances with a VO bright and early over one that may get crankier by the hour any day.

 

Some gotchas. This was many weeks ago, but the consulate apparently mailed the wrong/outdated forms in the last packet to us. If memory serves, they consolidated the English and Chinese versions of a DS form into one or something like that. My SO had to function as a photocopier and quickly transcribe the contents of those 2 forms into one, all the while trying to field questions from other confused people in the room and having consulate workers keep telling the people to be "quick, quick, do it quickly". ;-) Moral of the story is to be prepared for anything to happen and bring an extra pen or two.

One other note, my SO kept telling me that the other interviewees at the other windows were being constantly yelled at for either being too slow in producing requested docs or not listening to what the interviewer wanted. Since we front loaded most of the stuff, we weren't subjected to this abuse (or at least that's what we are crediting it to.) But also do think about how you organize your stuff as you are preparing for the interview. And remember the interviewing window environment. The little slot you are shoving stuff into isn't very big. My SO tells me it's no different than the ones in any bank branch in China. So think about how you would get big items, like big photo albums that don't fit in that form factor, efficiently into the hands of the VO and not get yelled at or loose brownie points.

 

Overall, I think that GUZ has been good to us. We weren't subjected to some of the horror stories we've heard luckily.

 

To finish off the story.

We've went back to the floor of the Consulate entrance that afternoon. There are a bunch of travel agencies there and we asked about plane tickets. Shop around. I've found one that had the cheapest one way ticket I could find anywhere. I've also found a couple that had the most expensive ones I've found anywhere.

 

The visa arrived in about 4 business days.

 

We brought a plane ticket soon after, entered the US, no problems at the POE, by the way.

 

We got married shortly after we got back.

 

I am signed, sealed and delivered!

 

Now the fun begins with AOS. I can't wait...

 

I'll update this thread if I find something I forgot. This forum helped me out a lot and I had to return the favor, even though technically, I am still sleep deprived. ;-)

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

NOTE: As much as I dislike helping big conglomerates advertise, I don't mind doing so when it benefits the little guy. People with BOA accounts, I noticed a CCB ATM across the street from the embassy, corner of the block where IKEA is. ATM transactions are fee free using your BOA ATM card. And they give the most favorable (to you, not them) exchange rates too that I can find, I am not sure how they can make money doing this, hence the plug. BTW, I've seen CCB ATMs everywhere in China since I started to take notice.

 

Another I like to plug is Cathay Pacific Airways. I think they are the only ones that still allow 2 pieces of checked luggage free. Also, if you book a 2 way ticket with them, you can change the return leg for any reason, no fees charged. This is helpful if you like to match a one way you are about to purchase for your SO after you get the visa. I did find that the one ways from Asia to the US on Cathay is expensive.

[Jon & Cindy]

Lots of good info there. Congrats!!!

[Kyle]

CP airways is a nice way to travel. Continental also allows two pieces of checked luggage - BTW.

 

I'm glad you guys had a successful journey. Congratulations to you both!

[HongKong2LA]

Sounds like it was almost painless. Congratulations!!!!

[Michael]

Congratulations! Sounds like everything ran pretty smooth. Thanks for the good information. I am pretty much all set. I leave for Guangzhou on Monday. But I am doind a CR 1.

Good luck and you future looks bright. Keep us informed on whaat is up.

 

Michael